New York:Â Nearly three billion internet users are expected worldwide by the end of 2014. Two-thirds of them will be from the developing world, while mobile-cellular subscriptions will reach almost seven billion, according to figures released by the UN.
The report by the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said 44% of the world’s households will have internet access by end of 2014. Close to one-third (31%) of households in developing countries will be connected to the internet, compared with 78% in developed countries. The analysis shows that household Internet access is approaching saturation levels in developed countries.
Mobile-cellular subscriptions will reach almost 7 billion by end-2014, and 3.6 billion of these will be in the Asia-Pacific region. The increase is mostly due to growth in the developing world where mobile-cellular subscriptions will account for 78% of the world’s total.
“The newly released ICT (information and communications technology) figures confirm once again that information and communication technologies continue to be the key drivers of the information society,” ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure said.
Brahima Sanou, the Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, said the new figures are a watershed moment in the world’s growing affinity for ICT. “Behind these numbers and statistics are real human stories. The stories of people whose lives have improved thanks to ICTs,” Sanou said, adding “our mission is to bring ICTs into the hands of ordinary people, wherever they live. By measuring the information society, we can track progress, or identify gaps, towards achieving socio-economic development for all”.
Mobile-broadband remains the fastest growing market segment, with continuous double-digit growth rates in 2014. Even as the worldwide growth trend of these ICTs continues, fixed-telephone penetration, however, lags behind.
(With PTI inputs)